The Women's Tennis Association made several announcements concerning the WTA Championships. In Singapore, tennis player Eugenie Bouchard, official WTA Championships Ambassador Chris Evert, WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster and World of Sport Group CEO Andrew Georgiou unveiled new elements of the WTA Championships. The Championships will be expanded into a 10-day sports entertainment event of competition, exhibitions and activities for the fans of women's tennis in Singapore and around the world. There will be seven days of competition starting in '14, versus six in previous years, with eight days of competition in '15 and on. Additionally, the doubles competition will be expanded to eight teams. A new WTA Rising Stars Exhibition will take place during the opening Fan Festival weekend. The invitational event will feature the WTA's up-and-coming talent from the Asian region and around the world. The new WTA Legends Exhibition will welcome some of the greats of the game back on the court. WTA Legends will be invited to attend the WTA Championships and participate in exhibition matches, and support corporate and community programs. The WTA has opened an office in Singapore and once completed, it will be part of the Singapore Sports Hub, the home of the WTA Championships. Having the WTA team on the ground and working with the Singapore Sports Council will provide opportunities to contribute to the development of the sport and to assist the SCC with its "2030 Vision" -- to live better through sports (WTA).

Controversial changes to V8 Supercars twin-race format "will not just apply to the Clipsal 500, with the governing body confirming that Sydney and Townsville's events will have their Saturday races split."
All three Super Street events "will feature the same format," with two 125km twilight races on Saturday followed by a single 250km test on Sunday (FOX SPORTS, 1/27). ... The European Handball Federation Euro 2014 has set a new attendance record with 316,000 spectators (EHF). ... Tour Down Under Race Dir Mike Turtur believes the event "has the ideal balance between stages suited to sprinters and all-rounders, but hinted there could be a 'surprise' in next year's route."
Turtur, who rated this year's race as the best in its 16 editions, said the '15 course "will be unveiled in June, with a number of new councils in South Australia having submitted expressions of interest to host stages" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/27). ... The UAE will host a major Int'l Cricket Council event for the first time, with the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup UAE 2014 (ICC U19 CWC) being staged there from Feb. 14-March 1.
The seven venues to be used for the tournament in the UAE are the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi Oval 1; Abu Dhabi Oval 2; Sharjah Cricket Stadium; Dubai Int'l Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City; ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai and the ICC Academy Oval 2, Dubai (ICC).